Salvadoran Enchiladas

Ever since I came back to El Salvador, I have been treated to some delicious breakfast!

Over here we have the Salvadoran enchiladas... people asked me, aren't enchiladas supposed to be like a big mexican lasagna? I said there are many types of enchiladas, but these ones are Salvadoran!

Its a deep fried corn tortilla, topped with shredded chicken, refried beans, hard-boiled eggs, cabbage, shredded cheese and some ketchup! yummy!

Today my day was: delicious!

I ate a lot..in fact, too much for one day!

I spent the day at Piedmont , in Oakland, CA. There is a street full of restaurants and dessert places, and I was tempted to try all of them!

We went to Boot and Shoe Service. A nice spot for pizza and hot apple cider. Food was exquisite, but I only enjoyed the potato pizza because the sausage pizza turned out to be super spicy...which is something I cannot handle.

Afterwards we headed to Fenton's creamery. The ice cream place that appears in the movie "Up" by Pixar. We had some coffee with crushed Oreo cookies. yummy!

After some ice cream we headed to a shop that sells bobba drinks. I didn't want more dessert for the day, but my sister insisted since she had one stamp left to get her free drink. OK i said and there we were, stuffing ourselves even more!

Later today we had Hamburgers for dinner. I wanted to opt for something healthier since we had pizza for lunch. But the moment I saw the pictures on Yelp, I couldnt resist but to try them the same day. I had an Alaskan Salmon burger with onions and mushroom. The portions were huge! So much for a day! I was stuffed ^.^

Dessert was not an option anymore, but my friend managed to drag us to a gelato place called Lush, and we had a pint of orange gelato. So light and citric.. it was just right.

I just got back home and I'm so full that I cannot walk. I thought I had learned my lesson about gluttony...but there are just so many good places to eat in California! So many...that I just can't miss out. Have to enjoy while it lasts!

Gypsys Trattoria Italiano! A small Italian restaurant located on Telegraph Avenue, in Berkeley.

This place is amazing! Affordable prices and great food. I fed three not-starving bellies for under $25!

I had a big lunch at a Thai restaurant in San Francisco, and so I thought I was not going to enjoy an early dinner as much. I was wrong. The moment I ate their Combo Calzone my appetite was back! Today we had Combo Calzone, Pollo Gorgonzola and Chicken Gnocchi. All of them were great. I enjoyed the tomato sauce from the Pollo Gorgonzola more than the white creamy sauce from Chicken Gnocchi. The tomato sauce was so flavorful, but the chicken was a little bit dry. Additionally, the gnocchi was delicious !

I also went to the UC Berkeley campus and walked around, taking pictures of some beautiful buildings including The Campanile.

Weather forecast said it was going to rain today. But it didnt happen, we got plenty of sunshine but also plenty of wind! I just made sure I stayed under the sun and not the shade =P

New Year...New goals?

I'm not sure if I should set new goals for this year if I havent even managed to complete the previous ones.

I am currently on zombie mode- a totally inappropriate mode to be on when setting goals- but that's because the end of the year didn't end as i expected.

There are things that are just simply out of our hands- I had to spend Christmas and New year's away from my family. I have my sister here with me, and if we didn't have each other I would totally go into a deep state of depression. I feel lonely sometimes though, maybe because I haven't learnt to appreciate what surrounds me. We sometimes place to much importance on some things/people that when something related to that does not work out, our world seems to fall apart.

I have just come to realize, that things should not be that way. I have people that truly care about me, although its only a handful of them, and I haven't really learned to see the value in them.

My fave motto is: what goes around comes around.

And my fave rule to live by is: the golden rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Still working on my goals for this year.---- one which I can't miss is the health goal - to become more active, exercise more! let's make it happen.

Gluttony, one of the 7 deadly sins

I prepared some stuffed patties that are made of corn and flour, turned into a dough that is then shaped into a patty and fried in oil until crispy. These yummy patties were like pockets that i cut open and stuffed with two different fillings: butter mushrooms with cheese, and red refried beans with cheese. Now, you can only imagine how delicious this food was, and it was indeed, but the reason why I am feeling guilty at 9:37pm on this Wednesday night is because I pushed my self to the limit. I ate like a a pig and now I feel terribly guilty.

My mind tells me that I should be fine, because the food will eventually digest and I can always make up for the extra calories gained tonight by working out hard tomorrow morning. But chances are, I won't make time for exercise and the guilt will still be there. Or if I'm lucky, I will forget about what I ate tonight and will live tomorrow happily as if this never happened.

I feel guilty not only because I am stuffed, can barely walk, or because I am still wondering and regretting why I ate so much, but also because of what the bible says about gluttony:

Philippians 3:19

Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.

Proverbs 23:20-21

Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat, for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags.

Proverbs 23:2

And put a knife to your throat if you are given to appetite.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17

Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.

We know that everything in excess is bad for you. Smoking, drinking, and eating in excess will only damage your body. The next time I go out to an All-you-can-eat restaurant, or are tempted to eat over what I can take, I will refrain, and remember the consequences of eating too much.
Remember, your body is not yours but God's , and is the temple of the holy spirit... Let's take care of it like you would take care of something borrowed. Love your body, take care of it, and allow nothing to defile it!

sharing is caring!

Sharing is caring!

Check out this amazing, cool and overly cute stuff from Fat Rabbit Farm!

http://fatrabbitfarm.com/

This image portrayed here is the canvas print titled "sharing is caring"

A great message displayed in a cute and fun colorful way!

Life is more exciting when we learn to share. The bible teaches us that "it is more blessed to give than to receive" Acts 20:35

Try it out! You don't necessarily have to share material things, but also intangible things...such as love.

share and be merry, and you will see how the world around you will change. If only each of us could have this mentality...oh how wonderful would life be!

My first 5km!

Today I ran my first 5 km! although 5km equals only to 3.1 miles, it was a total challenge for me.

I was never a sport-kind of person, nor athletic in any way. Just about two years ago I started attending the local gym just to stay fit and start a healthier lifestyle. Despite my efforts, I never really succeeded in attending the gym on a regular basis, and the days I used to go were more of a leisure time off from school where I hardly broke a sweat.

It wasn't until I met my boyfriend that I got more involved in exercising harder, and actually had a reason to sweat. Over time, he also inspired me to give running a try. I started off with the most basic run: running on a treadmill. I dreaded running on treadmills for various reasons.

One, I had problems breathing since i was a kid, so I assumed that my problems were going to get worse if I started running. I get to breath heavily or get short breaths occasionally, but nothing that has killed me so far. So it should be fine. I guess the key here is to learn how to breath appropriately.

Two, I was and still are scared of injuring my knees and my ankles due to the high-impact of the nature of the exercise. I shouldn't be scared though. When I weigh the benefits over the costs, I think it's worth to give it a try.

And last, I lacked self-confidence. I had always thought of myself as incapable of doing something that I had never tried. I am obviously not in shape for a half-marathon, but all I can say is that one shouldn't attempt to attain a goal that is very far away, but to stick to the basics. If we start off from the very bottom, very basic stuff, and move up little by little, we will find ourselves accomplishing more than we could ever think about. Confidence is the foundation for success.

Jumping into a treadmill was the first step. Then I took the challenge of running my first 5km on a race and I finished it in 33:40 mins. That may not be the best time, but for now all I am focused on is distance, not time. It's important to me that I was able to run at a comfortable pace without stopping. The company and support from my boyfriend also motivated me to keep going. I have realized that so many great things can be achieved when you have the support of your loved ones.

My goals for the present time are to keep on training. I want to grow in this aspect, because I want to have the feeling of satisfaction, of accomplishment, of worthiness. Everything that will make me feel wholesome.